Those You Leave Behind
by Chris7221
Summary: RWBY is gone, their deaths presumed, but not certain. They'd found something, a criminal operation that took their lives. Now it's up to another team to take up the mantle and finish what they'd started. An alternate Volume 2 starring JNPR.
1. Worst Day Ever

RWBY's gone. JNPR isn't. Torchwick is still out there, and it's up to them to stop him. This will follow Volume 2 fairly closely, but with JNPR taking... well, all the roles, basically. Because of that, there will be some changes, but it's generally headed in the same direction.

This is kind of a rough story. I don't really have the time to make this into a proper, well-written, polished story, but I have a few chapters so I wanted to post it and see what kind of response I'd get.

Episode 0 and Episode 1 are combined into one because if I don't, the actual numbering won't line up with FFn's numbering.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 0: Passing the Torch<strong>

**Beacon Academy**

"Team RWBY is gone," Headmaster Ozpin announced simply, without emotion.

The four students in front of them stood in shocked silence. Finally, one of them, a scraggly blond, asked, "What do you mean by gone?"

"They attempted to apprehend a known criminal," he answered carefully. "That criminal was better prepared than they thought."

After a quiet moment, Jaune Arc managed to ask, "Were they killed?"

The Headmaster sighed. "In all honesty, we do not know- I do not know. They could have been captured, they may be imprisoned, they may have been tortured to death, they may be gone to us forever. But..."

"But?" Nora Valkyrie asked, much less energetic than usual. "I don't like the sound of that."

"We do not know," he replied. "Officially, they are dead. If there is one thing I have learned, it is easier to accept a certain death than an uncertain one. They are probably dead, but it is not certain."

"If I may, sir, why are you telling us?" Lie Ren asked with forced calm.

"I know your teams were close, both personally and professionally," the Headmaster replied after a moment. "I felt that you deserved to know the truth. What you do with that truth is of your own choosing, but I strongly advise that you continue with your lives, that you do not attempt to finish what they have started, that you do not attempt to find them if they are alive."

Pyrrha Nikos answered for all of them. "It will be difficult for us, but... yes, sir."

He paused before admitting, "Losing students is difficult for us all. If there's anything you need..."

"T-thank you, sir," Jaune replied quietly before shuffling out of the room. His team followed silently, except for the still-crying Nora.

Professor Goodwitch was waiting outside the office. Jaune stopped and looked at her, but was unable to form words.

"This is not the first time that Beacon has lost students," she admitted quietly. She sighed. "But... this is a shock to all of us. And I think it's hit the Headmaster particularly hard. He saw something special in them."

She straightened up, embarrassed by her lapse in formality. "Do not let this tragic event affect your training or your studies."

* * *

><p>"I just... I just can't believe they're gone," Jaune said quietly. They were back in their dorm, but they couldn't study or sleep. They were still caught up in the news, simultaneously numb and alert.<p>

It didn't take long for him to realize that Headmaster Ozpin was right. If they knew their friends were dead, gone forever, they would be consumed with grief. But being told their friends were almost certainly dead, but with a slim possibility of survival left them with both grief and doubt.

"You have a message," Ren told him, interrupting his thoughts.

"What?"

Ren motioned to the device left forgotten beside Jaune's bed. "Your scroll. You have a message."

"It's from... it's from Ruby!" Jaune exclaimed after checking the device. He paused when he looked closer. "Weird, it says it was sent two days ago, but I haven't seen it until now."

His shoulders slumped. "Guys, I don't know if I want to watch this..."

"It could be important, Jaune," Pyrrha gently reminded him, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Yeah... I guess," Jaune replied. He hit the play button and a familiar face appeared on the screen.

"Jaune, if you're listening to this, that means something really really bad happened," Ruby Rose began, her voice a bit sad. She turned toward someone outside the view. "I don't want to do this."

"It was your idea," the haughty voice of Weiss Schnee snapped.

"But it's depressing," Ruby whined.

"It's important," the sanguine voice of Blake Belladonna said. "You know it's important."

"Well, okay." Ruby turned back toward the camera. "Okay, we're sneaking out tonight to go after Roman Torchwick. We know he's up to something big and he's working with the White Fang. See when Blake ran off we found out she was a Faunus and she found out that the White Fang was stealing Dust and didn't know why. We tried to find her but she went down to the docks- that was the fight on TV. It turns out Torchwick was working with the White Fang.

"Blake found out that there's another operation they have on the other side of town. We're going to see what's going on. It's really dangerous and we probably shouldn't be doing this which is why we're not telling anyone. But this is important because they could be up to something really bad. But it might not go well for us."

"Penny," Blake reminded from off-screen.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ruby added. "We met this weird girl, Penny, when Blake ran off. When there was the fight at the docks she was really awesome using these swords on wires and stuff. She has orange hair and green eyes and I think her colour is green. Try to find her!"

"If you're watching this and nobody's said anything else we're probably gone. But I don't want you guys to be sad, okay?" In the video, Ruby smiled, her eyes bright and alive. "I want you to do the best you can and I want you to do it for us. We might not be able to protect the world anymore but someone has to and I know you can do it."

They were silent, wiping away tears that were and weren't there, for a while. It seemed like an eternity to them. Eddying, swirling emotions passed through them.

"We have to keep going," Jaune said finally, with a confidence he didn't think he really had. "We have to keep training, and keep learning, and become the best huntsmen and huntresses we can be. For them. That's what Ruby wanted. That's what they wanted. That's what we'll do."

"We're not going to try to find them?" Nora asked sadly.

"You heard what the Headmaster said," Jaune replied. "They're probably dead. You heard what Ruby said. We shouldn't... we can't destroy our own lives."

"What about Torchwick and the White Fang?" Pyrrha asked, unusually quiet. "Something happened, Jaune. They weren't killed for no reason."

He was a lot less sure about that. "I don't know."

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 1: Worst Day Ever<strong>

**Vale**

"I know this feels wrong, I know we shouldn't be out here with the memorial tomorrow... but I just had to get away," Jaune mused to his teammates for the third time today.

The mood was somber as they strolled down the streets of Vale. Most people continued with their daily lives around them. It was sad news, yes, that such young individuals full of potential had perished, but it didn't have personal impact for most of them. But for Team JNPR, it was hell.

"Jaune," Pyrrha soothed, placing a gloved hand on her leader's shoulder. "It's okay. I understand. I think we all want to escape, at least as much as we can."

"Yeah... I just... I can't believe they're gone," Jaune sighed again.

"They might not be dead!" Nora said cheerfully- or what sounded like cheer. They all knew that it was false. She seemed bubbly and cheerful, but she was... off. Tense. "

"I know none of us want to hear this," Pyrrha reminded them, "But people go missing all the time. Usually, nobody can find what is left of them, if anything is left of them."

"We have to accept it," Jaune reminded his team. "We have to finish what they've started."

He paused, faking a smile. "But not today. Today, we've gone out as a team to have fun, like they would have. And that's what we're going to... do..."

"What is it?" his partner asked, following his gaze. "A bookstore?"

"Blake liked that bookstore," Nora reminded her.

"That's not it, but yeah," Jaune said sadly, stepping toward it. As he approached it, he realized what was so odd about it. "Hey? Why'd they darken the windows?"

"Maybe it's closed," Nora suggested.

"In the middle of the day?" Jaune asked.

Nora mused, "Hmm, that is odd."

Pyrrha asked, "Should we investigate?"

Jaune thought about it for a moment. On one hand, it was really nothing that odd, and it wasn't really their responsibility. On the other hand, something felt off about the whole thing. "Yeah. I think we should."

"Weapons?" Pyrrha asked, turning serious.

"Keep them ready, but don't draw," Jaune told her, pushing the door open.

The inside of the store was a mess. Books that were once carefully arranged were now strewn haphazardly around the room. One of the shelves was broken, and there was a trail of blood leading behind As soon as they saw it, they drew their weapons and moved into a defensive stance.

Pyrrha was the first to speak, "Oh my- what happened here?"

"Call emergency," Jaune ordered Ren. Even without thinking, Jaune knew that the quiet, calm young man would do the best job of conveying the information. He stowed half of StormFlower and pulled out his Scroll.

A wet, hacking cough came from behind one of the bookshelves, where the trail of blood led to. Jaune cautiously approached. Nausea threatened to overcome him when he saw the big faunus man, presumably the owner of the store, at the end of the blood trail with a giant hole in his abdomen.

Pyrrha whispered to him, "He's still alive, but there's nothing anyone can do for him."

"White Fang... working with a human... some agenda," the dying owner sputtered.

"What?" Jaune asked, leaning down to hear the quiet words.

"Find Bla... Blake... Bella... donna," the faunus man sputtered, Jaune straining to hear. "Tell her... the warehouse... 8th and H... she'll..."

He muttered something else before expiring completely.

"This can't be a coincidence, Jaune," Pyrrha said softly. "Maybe this is even-"

"What got them... you know... yeah," Jaune replied as he stood up, still in a state of shock. Outside, sirens blared as the police began to arrive.

* * *

><p><strong>Beacon Academy<strong>

The Beacon hall was crowded for the memorial service. In the usual tradition, the room was lit up brightly and colourfully, with the widely varying outfits and openly displayed weapons adding to the spectrum. Supposedly, it was to celebrate the diversity that the huntresses fought for, or the light in the darkness, or something equally poetically. The actual tradition dated back to a time where funerals were very dangerous, and getting attacked by Grimm attracted to the negative emotions was the norm.

Four crosses sat at the front of the room, on the elevated stage, representing the dead. It was also an ancient practice that went back for longer than anyone could remember. Though none were sure of where the symbol came from, most understood it to be symbolic of a sword buried in the ground by a warrior no longer able to fight. They were, also as per tradition, coloured like the fallen huntresses; red, white, black, and yellow.

The hall was packed with the Beacon students and staff, who could barely fit on a good day, as well as a handful guests with close connections to the deceased.

Taiyang Xiao Long was inconsolable. He'd lost one love, then another, and now his precious daughters were gone too. Since he'd heard the news, he'd alternated between bawling loudly in the corner and breaking everything in sight. Right now, he was crying as quietly as possible, which was not very. Nobody dared laugh or tell him to quiet down.

Qrow Branwen tried anyway. It wasn't easy for him. Yang was his niece by blood, and Ruby might as well have been. He'd personally trained the scythe wielder for years when he was a professor at Signal. He'd watched them grow up, watched them build their potential, and now they were gone. He remained stoic, even detached. It was all he could do not to break down.

Winter Schnee sat two sets down from them, sniffling. She was a few inches taller than her older sister, though slimmer, and her snow white hair was loose, not tied up. Her cobalt-trimmed white dress was immaculate, but her light blue gloves were damp from wiping away tears.

Flanking her were a pair of guards in SDC uniforms that looked more uncomfortable than distraught. One of them held a box of tissues for the fifteen-year-old girl. They silently agreed not to mention that detail in their report. Winter may have just lost the only real family she had, but their boss would not be so understanding. The heiress to the Schnee empire had to be perfect.

"All rise!" the stern voice of Professor Glynda Goodwitch called. Very quickly, the assembled mass did her bidding.

Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy, strode toward the centre of the stage, steps measured and deliberate. Despite having no notes, he habitually pushed his glasses upward on his face as he took his place behind the microphone. He began slowly, "We gather here today to mourn the passing of Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long, four huntresses taken before their time. Please be seated."

The gathering obliged, and he allowed them to settle for a moment before continuing. "As many of you are aware, this is... somewhat of a personal tragedy for me. This is not the first time Beacon has lost students, or even the first time since I became headmaster. It is a terrible tragedy whenever this happens- perhaps an inevitable one, but a terrible tragedy nonetheless.

"These four had immense potential, perhaps the most I have seen enter this school. I do not say this to honour the fallen. With time, and the right guidance, they might have become legendary. If that is the case, then why are they gone? Because not all can wait until they are ready to achieve all they can be. Sometimes that must be forced. And sometimes, it ends in tragedy.

"I do not believe I was mistaken in allowing Ruby Rose into this school. I do not believe I was mistaken in making her leader. I do not believe I was mistaken in allowing them to undertake their own mission. I do not believe I was mistaken, despite all that has transpired. They believed they would make a difference, they knew the risk, and they carried on regardless. This is the ideal all huntsmen and huntresses should aspire to."

"I believe that in their final moment, they reached their potential. May their light burn everlasting in the darkness of eternity. Thank you."

Some noted that his speech was strange, but the Headmaster was infamous for his enigmatic nature, and no doubt he was also awash in negative emotions. The four crosses were simultaneously set alight. Ozpin stepped back and bowed his head in respect, the audience following. They stood with their heads bowed and stayed as silent as possible until the crosses finally burnt to ash.

"Ashes to ashes, Dust to Dust," the Headmaster recited before passing the stage back to Goodwitch.

She said curtly, "You may now come up and pay your respects. A memorial gallery has been set up outside. Counselling and spiritual services are available."

Team JNPR was at the front, and they were among the first to leave. On one hand, it felt wrong to leave so quickly, on the other hand, they didn't want to stay. Jaune noticed the Headmaster take Taiyang and Qrow aside, but paid no attention. They shuffled off back to their dorms, still thinking about the events of the previous day.

* * *

><p><strong>Unknown Location<strong>

Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai stepped into the warehouse, past the White Fang grunts unloading crates of Dust from a Bullhead.

"Oh, look, she sent the kids again," Roman Torchwick quipped, wrapping his arms around the duo. "This is turning out just like the divorce!"

"Ugh," Emerald pulled away from him. "Spare us the thought of you procreating."

"That was a joke," the orange-haired thief told them. He stepped away, raising a slip of paper in his hand. "And this... just might tell me where you two have been all day."

Emerald patted her pockets. "Wha-"

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention, maybe you'll learn something," Roman said, smoothly and quickly. His tone turned dangerous when he asked, "Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the green-haired girl sneered.

"Yeah, I would." He waved the paper in front of her. "Now where have you been all day?"

Mercury stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Cleaning up your problems. _One_ of them, at least."

"I had that under control-"

"Just like you had the docks under control?"

"It was a minor setback," Torchwick shot back. "I'm not the psychopath who decided to murder four students _and_ do nothing at all about the one who actually caused our problems. If it were up to me, I'd-"

"Do what, Roman?" an ominous voice asked. Cinder Fall descended toward them on a lift, seeming to appear out of nowhere.

"Urm... the same thing?" He gulped nervously. Roman had actually called Cinder on it to her face when she first told him, and had nearly been cremated alive. Needless to say, he did _not_ want to repeat that.

"Cinder!" Emerald said excitedly. Her smile faded when the woman stepped past her, menacingly approaching Roman.

"I thought I made it clear that you would eliminate the would-be runaway," Cinder told him, an edge to her voice. "I'm disappointed to see you fail... _again_."

"I was going to..." the thief stammered.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo!" Emerald accused. "Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat."

Mercury corrected, "I think he was some sort of cat, actually-"

Cinder cut them off. "Quiet. Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

"I just thought-"

"Don't think," Cinder told her. "_Obey_."

"Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again."

Cinder turned toward Roman. "And you..."

The thief laughed nervously, a lame attempt to cover up how afraid he really was.

"Why wasn't this job done sooner?" Cinder snapped.

"Uh..." Roman paused, took a deep breath, glanced at a certain shadow, then gestured around to the crates of Dust behind him. He stepped toward the woman, who he was pretty sure was a sociopath, and went on the offensive. "_Sorry_ if I've been busy stealing _every_ speck of Dust in the Kingdom!"

"Which you only accomplished after we took care of your problems for you," Mercury reminded him again.

"I was doing fine!" Roman snapped back at him. He waved at the three of them. "It was you who decided that it wasn't going smooth enough, and decided to, how did you say it? Accelerate the process."

"It was necessary," Cinder reminded him, an edge to her voice.

He huffed. "Well _if_ you guys wouldn't mind filling me _in_ on your grand master plan, it _might_ make my next string of robberies go a little _smoother!_"

"Oh, Roman. Have a little faith." Cinder stepped forward and laid a hand on his cheek, a move that scared the crap out of him. "You'll know what you need when you need to know it."

She stepped back and told him, "Besides, we're done with Dust."

"Oh?" The thief raised an eyebrow dramatically. "Did our mysterious benefactor decide they finally had enough?"

Cinder did not reply, instead giving him orders. "We're moving. Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."

"Coordinates?"

"We're proceeding to phase two," she replied ominously, turning and striding out of the warehouse with her minions in tow, glass heels clicking against the concrete floor.

Roman fished in his pockets for a cigar, pulling one out and biting down on the end. He reached for his lighter and realized that it was no longer in his pocket. Just before stepping out the door, Emerald flicked Roman's lighter, sticking out her tongue at the thief, who glared at her before she disappeared.

Of course, Roman expected something like that. He was, after all, a professional.

"Neo?" A girl with pink and brown hair stepped out of the shadows and tossed Roman his spare lighter. He caught it and used it to light his cigar. "Thank you."

She stood there, continuing to stare expectantly. The orange-haired thief puffed on his cigar and sighed. "I know she's going to sell us out. Don't worry, we'll beat her to the punch. Just... a little bit longer."


	2. Unwelcome At Beacon

So... finally got around to continuing it. Believe it or not, I actually do have a plan beyond "replace RWBY with JNPR". We'll see if I actually get there.

It's not quite a scene-for-scene replacement anymore; I've shuffled the end a bit. The plotting and scheming will have to wait for the next chapter.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 2: Unwelcome At Beacon<strong>

"Ozpin!" General James Ironwood called as he stepped into the office. A tall, powerfully built man, his uniform was crisp and clean. A metal plate over one temple and an artificial arm belied his experience, and streaks of grey his age.

"Hello, General," the Headmaster greeted cordially.

"Please, drop the formalities. It's been too long." Noticing the severe woman standing by the door, he added, " And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

"Oh, James," Glynda swooned sarcastically. She snapped, "I'll be outside."

"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," the General commented lightly after she had left.

Headmaster Ozpin handed his old friend a cup of coffee. "I presume you have heard the news?"

"I have," Ironwood replied as he added a shot from his flask to the mug. "Not exactly a good way to start the Vytal Festival, is it?"

"Certainly not," Ozpin said casually. "I don't suppose the circumstances are familiar to you?"

"No," the General replied after a moment of hesitation. "The Kingdom of Atlas gave up on that a long time ago."

Blue eyes met brown. "Did they really?"

"To the best of my knowledge," Ironwood wasn't lying. It was just that the best of his knowledge wasn't very good, something that he suspected the other man already knew.

The Headmaster continued sadly, "James, I saw potential in them I have not seen in a _very_ long time. To lose them..."

"You know as well as I do that it happens," the General said bluntly.

"Unfortunately."

"Unfortunately," Ozpin echoed, regaining his composure. "I see you have brought your fleet with you. I don't suppose there is a reason for this?"

"I think you already know."

"We are in a time of peace," Ozpin pointed out. "Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true..." Ironwood paused. "Oz, do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"

"I had hoped they would never have to," the Headmaster replied slowly, his voice carefully controlled.

"Hoped," Ironwood mused. He added critically, "It's always been your nature to act conservatively. Even now, when you've seen what can happen-"

"I am not naive," Ozpin replied calmly, but with an edge to his voice. "It is not the first time. It will not be the last."

"No, it won't be," the General told him. He stood to leave. "I'm being cautious. You should do the same."

Ozpin watched the General retreat out of the office. Just before he passed through the door, he called, "James."

Ironwood stopped and turned. "Yeah, Oz?"

"There will come a time where you must choose between what you believe to be right and what you are told is right. Choose carefully."

* * *

><p>"So..." Jaune muttered, tapping his fingers on the table.<p>

"So." Pyrrha agreed. She added after a pause, "They were always the ones to get things going, weren't they?"

"I can just imagine them playing that stupid board game," Jaune said quietly. "What was it called?"

"Remnant," Ren replied.

The blonde nodded. "Remnant."

Nora slid over beside them. "Ooh! I wonder if it's still around?"

"I wonder if she knew we knew," Pyrrha asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"I wonder if Blake knew that we knew she was a faunus," she explained. "She had some relation to the White Fang and that bookstore owner. What else do we not know?"

"A lot,"

"Hey," a monkey faunus called, striding up to them. He wore his shirt loosely and open, showing off well-toned abs. A blue-haired human who looked like he absolutely did not want to be there followed half a pace behind.

"Hey," the leader of JNPR replied weakly.

"I, uh, I overheard you talking about Blake," the monkey faunus said quietly. "I was at the docks. I guess I was one of the last people to see them alive... that sounds really cliche, doesn't it?"

"Ruby didn't mention you," Jaune said, ignoring the bad attempt at humour.

"Huh? Did she leave a message or something?" Seeing their looks, he said, "Okay, I'll take that as a yes. I'm Sun, by the way. Sun Wukong."

"Neptune Vasilias," the blue-haired human introduced. His voice was smooth, but lacked any real enthusiasm.

"What happened at the docks, exactly?" Pyrrha asked gently.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Sun evaded.

Jaune shook his head. "What about your version of the story?"

"We waited, then we saw that human thief, Roman Torchwick, then Blake jumped in, then I jumped in, and then this weird girl showed up and started pulling airships out of the sky!"

"Wow! She pulled them out of the sky?" Nora exclaimed. "Was she using swords on wires?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess, why?"

"Did she have green eyes and bright orange hair?" Nora continued. Sun nodded. She jumped up. "That must be Penny!"

"Nora?"

"Yes, Ren-Ren?"

"Please try to be quieter."

"Okay, Ren-Ren!" she replied loudly.

Jaune turned to the faunus and pressed, "But why were you there in the first place?"

He shrugged. "Well, we heard about a Dust shipment coming in, and we figured that if they were going after Dust, that's where they would go."

"There's more to it than that," Ren prodded.

"Uh..."

"She's gone," Jaune snapped. "If you know something that could explain why, then you owe it to her to tell us what it is."

The monkey faunus sat down and took a deep breath. "Okay, Blake couldn't believe that the White Fang needed that much Dust. She wanted to prove that the White Fang wasn't behind those robberies."

"Which case were you trying to prove?" Ren asked. "That the White Fang were responsible, or that they were not?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes," Ren replied. "Ruby stated that Blake knew the White Fang was stealing Dust, but didn't know why. Yet you are telling me that she suspected, but did not know, and wished to prove that the White Fang was not stealing Dust."

"Okay, look, that's what she told me. I remember that," Sun replied defensively. "She thought that the White Fang was behind it, but wasn't sure. She wanted to _make sure_, okay?"

"Why?" Jaune asked, confused. "This doesn't make any sense!"

"Was Blake Belladonna associated with the White Fang?" Ren asked bluntly.

Sun stood up and moved to leave, grabbing his friend by the arm. "Uh, we've got to go, bye now!"

* * *

><p>Team JNPR wandered back to their dorms, their minds weighed down with questions. How much did they know? How much didn't they know? What really happened that night? What really happened to JNPR? Who was Sun? Who was Penny? Who was the bookstore owner? Why was-<p>

Jaune's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden deceleration, followed by a hard impact with the floor. "Ow..."

A dark-skinned girl with green hair and red eyes, wearing a uniform he didn't recognize stared down at him. A slightly older woman and a young man wearing the same uniforms, stood beside her. She offered a hand to help him up.

The blonde team leader didn't take it, instead scrambling to his feet. "Oh, god, I'm so sorry! I didn't see you, and I ran into you. Sorry!"

He passed by and continued down the hallway, embarrassed and still lost in thought.

"I apologize for the cold welcome," Pyrrha told the Haven students, lagging behind. "We lost four students recently. Some of us were quite close to the deceased."

"I'm very sorry for your loss," the older of the two replied. Her voice was polite, but had a strange creepy tone to it. She said nothing else, simply continuing down the hallway with the other two.

Nora voiced their thoughts, "Well, that was strange."


	3. A Major Hiccup

This chapter leans toward the latter, and the next one probably will, too. After that, it'll swing the other way. Maybe.

The current chapter titling theme doesn't really work that well, but I'm sticking with it for the time being.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 3: A Major Hiccup<strong>

Jaune Arc rolled his pencil between his fingers. Professor Port was rambling on about some adventure or other, but the blonde student's thoughts were anywhere but on the class.

His crush on the now deceased (missing, he told himself, missing) heiress was hardly a secret. Ever since they'd met, he'd tried to court her, much to the girl's displeasure. Even after being all but rejected, he continued, thinking that if he kept trying, eventually he'd score a date. And then the white-haired girl would see how great he was, and they'd... well, actually, he hadn't give it much thought beyond the date.

Was that all it was, though? He'd told himself that this was love, but was it really? Was it true love, was it a stupid schoolboy crush, was it adolescent lust, was it something else? He couldn't answer that. The only thing he felt now was a cold emptiness where Weiss Schnee used to be.

Had he made a mistake? Maybe he never should have tried to go after her in the first place. Confidence wasn't enough. He just wasn't good enough. He'd thought the heiress was pretty normal, if pretty, and definitely possible, before finding out who she was. Should he have just given up-

His scroll beeped. Grateful for the distraction, he stealthily checked it. The message confused him more than anything. It was from someone named Glacias, which he saw as odd. He didn't know any Glacias.

_There's something going on. Can't say more yet._

* * *

><p>The mood in the JNPR dorm was different than it usually was- or as it usually had been. None of them had been feeling particularly good after the tragedy and chaos, and Jaune's strange order to lock the door and shut the windows only ratcheted up the tension further.<p>

"We start today," Jaune announced boldly. "We start our investigation today."

"It's exciting!" Nora exclaimed. "It's like we're in a cop show and we're doing a super-secret investigation on a super-bad criminal."

"That _is_ what we're doing, Nora," Ren told her, tone exasperated as usual.

Jaune unceremoniously tacked a large piece of paper to the wall and uncapped a marker. "What do we know?"

"Oh, I know this one!" Nora said loudly. "It started with the fight at the docks! Blake ran away, so they tried to find her, and then they found out that Torchwhatever guy was stealing Dust with the White Fang."

"Actually, they _suspected_ that the White Fang was stealing Dust," Ren corrected. "They only confirmed that Torchwick was working with them and that they were stealing Dust once they were at the docks. And the monkey faunus, Sun, seemed to imply that he was with Blake and her team did not arrive until after."

Pyrrha added, "_Blake_ suspected the White Fang was stealing Dust. She may have wanted to prove they weren't. But that would only make sense if..."

Jaune paused his scribbling. "You're not saying that she was part of the White Fang, are you?"

"We may never know," Ren said, voice neutral. "But we can deduce that she had some association with the group, and some interest in proving they were not stealing Dust."

"Damn." Jaune swore as he scribbled it all down in point form. "What about that weird girl they both mentioned?"

"Penny?" Nora asked rhetorically. "Well, she pulled airships out of the sky!"

"I think he was exaggerating," Ren told her.

"Something made those Bullheads crash," Nora reminded him. "Maybe she didn't really pull them out, maybe she shot them out!"

Jaune tapped his marker against the paper, leaving blue marks on it. "If we could talk to her, maybe she could tell us something."

"We don't even know her last name," Pyrrha reminded him. "How are we going to find her?"

"Well, we can be on the lookout, and we can ask around, but yeah, unless somebody knows her..." Jaune trailed off. "So, what are our leads?"

He remembered the message that he had received at the end of class. "Oh, right! I got a weird message on my scroll."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "A message?"

"Yeah, it's from someone named Glacias. They said that there's something going on, but they can't say more yet. Weird, huh? I don't think it's a coincidence."

"No," Ren agreed. "I doubt that is their real name. Did you try messaging back?"

He shook his head. "There's no number."

"It's not of much use to us, then," Ren concluded. "But keep watching for more messages."

"I will."

"The owner of the bookstore told us to look for Blake Belladonna," Pyrrha interrupted. "We cannot do that, but-"

"The address!" Jaune remembered. "Uh, he said a warehouse on seventh and ninth... no that's not right-"

"Eighth and H," Ren corrected.

"What would we do without you, Ren?" Jaune said lightly.

"We'd be JNP, hmm, what would that be?" Nora replied unnecessarily. "Junpy? Jump? No, that doesn't work. Ren? Oh, right, we can't ask Ren because there wouldn't be-"

"Nora?"

"Yes, Ren-Ren?"

"Focus, please."

"Sorry," she apologized before adding, "Oh! We could visit Junior!"

"Who's Junior?"

"He's this guy that owns this club in the bad part of town. He looks like a regular bar owner but he actually has informations on everyone."

"How do you know about that, Nora?" the blonde asked.

"Ehehehe... maybe _you and Pyr-Pyr_ should visit Junior," Nora said nervously.

"Wait, why?"

"She's banned," Ren explained. "For life."

"It wasn't my fault!"

"I've heard of him," Pyrrha interrupted. "He's the youngest member of the Xiong crime family. I suppose it would make sense that he would still have connections."

"Great!" Jaune said. By that point, he'd abandoned the paper completely. "So, I guess I'll go to the club with Pyrrha, and you two are going to investigate the White Fang warehouse."

Nora snapped off a salute. "Sounds like a plan!"

"I have no objections," Pyrrha replied.

Ren simply nodded.

"Okay. Let's do this."

* * *

><p>"So, uh, how are we actually going to get information out of this guy?" Jaune asked his partner as they strode toward the club. Their destination was obvious- it could be <em>heard<em> from a block away.

"We'll ask nicely," Pyrrha replied. "Tell him that we're looking for information on some departed friends."

"No good cop bad cop or anything like that?"

"It is a legitimate technique," Pyrrha replied. "But not the one we should use."

"No, you're right, we probably couldn't pull it off." He laughed. "I guess I just watch too many movies."

They turned silent as they got closer to the building, strolling casually toward it as if they were out to enjoy the evening. Or trying to, anyway. Pyrrha was used to putting on a calm facade, but Jaune couldn't hide his inner tension.

A lone bouncer stood in front of the entrance. He was dressed like all the others- black suit with matching hat and gloves, red glasses and red tie. He moved in front of the open entry as the teenagers approached. "You're not on the list."

"Uh, sorry, I guess we'll just go," Jaune replied nervously. They couldn't give up this easily! He wracked his brains for another plan.

"Yeah, that's, wait, you're Pyrrha Nikos!" His eyes went wide behind his glasses and he stepped aside. "Go right on in, Miss Nikos."

She smiled sweetly, "Thank you."

They walked past the bouncer and into the club. As soon as he saw it, Jaune was blown away. The room appeared huge, with an infinite black pit below transparent platforms linked by staircases. A bar sat to one side, with a DJ booth at the far end. Of course, much of the effect was clever architectural and lighting tricks, but it worked. It was impressive.

"Whoa..." Jaune breathed.

"I suppose fame does have its advantages," Pyrrha muttered.

"I don't really see how it has any _disadvantages_," Jaune said lightly.

A rare frown crossed his partner's face. "You have no idea."

"Uh..."

"Let's just get this done and over with," Pyrrha requested, voice professional. She looked around and noticed that the club was almost empty. A few identically-dressed bouncers milled around. The only possible customers in view were a pair of girls dressed in white and red glaring at them.

A tall man, dressed similarly to the bouncers but wearing a vest instead of a jacket, strode toward them. He greeted harshly, "So, what is the Mistralian tournament champion- and some blonde idiot- doing here?"

"Hey!" Jaune blurted out.

The big man ignored him. "Somehow I doubt you came here for fun."

The blonde managed to regain his composure somewhat. "We, uh, are you Junior?"

"That depends." He turned to Pyrrha and growled, "I know the idiots at the door let you in because you're the Pyrrha Nikos, but that doesn't mean you're welcome here. What do you want?"

"Some of our friends went missing recently," she answered. "We were hoping you would know something about what happened."

Junior narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Which friends?"

Jaune beat Pyrrha to the answer. "Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, and Yang Xiao Long."

"Blondie? Aw, shit." The big man sighed, then waved toward the bar. "Take a seat."

"You knew Yang Xiao Long?" Jaune asked, taking a seat beside his partner at the bar.

"Yeah," he grumbled from the other side of the bar. "She came in a few months ago, asked if I'd seen some lady, then trashed the place. Caused thousands of lien worth of damage."

Pyrrha covered her mouth in shock. "Oh."

"So, if she did that, and we're asking about her, why would you tell us anything?" Jaune asked, confused.

Junior was evasive. "I owe her, okay? It's a long story."

"What _do_ you know?" the red-haired champion asked.

"They poked around where they shouldn't have and paid for it," he answered, pouring himself a glass of Scotch whiskey. "That's the official story, and as far as I know, that's what happened."

"Did they find anything?"

He shrugged. "You tell me. If they didn't, would they be dead? No, don't answer that."

"Are they really dead?" Jaune asked quietly.

"Probably?" He sighed. "Kid, I have an ear to the ground, but I don't know every secret in the city. And these guys are really good at keeping secrets."

"Where are they?" Jaune asked.

"They?" He laughed. "I can't even tell you where they were, let along where they are now."

"Why are you telling us this?"

The big man took a moment to think about it. "Not too long after Blondie blew up the place, Torchwick came to hire some of my men. I couldn't say know- he offered too much for that. But they never came back."

He paused, contemplating his glass. "The thing is, I don't think he's the one calling the shots anymore. But that's just a hunch. Like I said, I haven't heard anything. These guys are really good at keeping secrets."

"The White Fang?"

"They're part of it, but it's not the same Fang from our parents' days," he replied, swirling his liquor. "Somehow I don't think this is about ideology. But then again, it never is, is it."

Jaune tried to sound intelligent. "I guess not?"

"Now," Junior finished, motioning to the door. "I'd appreciate it if you were never here. Understand?"

"Uh, not really-"

Pyrrha cut her partner off, grabbing him and pulling him toward the exit. "We understand. Thank you, Mister Xiong."

"Don't mention it," he called as the walked away. "Seriously. Don't."

He turned to his bouncers. "That goes double for you morons."

The pair walked away confidently, armed with new information. They didn't look back after the doors closed behind them.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked quietly.

"What is it, Pyrrha?" Jaune was oblivious, but even he could detect the worried tone in her voice.

"I've been thinking... is this about finding answers and stopping something terrible, or are we only doing this to get some kind of vengeance?"

He chewed his lip. "I can't answer that, Pyrrha."

Before either of them could say anything more, Jaune's scroll began to ring. He almost dropped it before picking up the call. "Yeah?"

Ren's voice, unusually panicked, chirped, "Jaune, they're on to us. Get here as fast as you can."


	4. Paint The Town Black

This chapter may be really short. The original episode has three sub-arcs. Out of those, one is omitted and one was resolved in the previous chapter, leaving only one left for this chapter. Also, this is my first time (!) writing this kind of battle, so there's that.

Despite being a bit rushed, I feel this is one of the strongest chapters of this story so far.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 4: Paint The Town Black<strong>

"Grimm masks," Ren commented as he put on the centrepiece of his disguise, more to himself than to his partner. He reached up and adjusted his fake ears one last time. "We made monsters of them, so they embraced it."

"Do you think this will work?" Nora asked, putting on her own mask.

He surveyed his partner. Though he had been very careful to choose an animal that was easy to look convincing and make his disguise as simple as possible, Nora hadn't. She had a long, furry, and absolutely fake tail, as well as a claw sticking out from under her gloves on every second finger. "I hope so."

Hesitantly, they stepped into the warehouse. A faunus guard, devoid of anything identifying him as White Fang, nodded to them as they went by. The inside of the warehouse was expansive, dimly lit, and full of faunus in White Fang outfits. Dozens stood on the floor and probably a few hundred more in the catwalks above.

"What the hell are you?" a deer faunus snapped at Nora as they edged their way into the crowd.

She glared at the Fang member from behind her mask, leaning uncomfortably close to her. "I'm a sloth faunus. Ku-raw! Ku-raw!"

"Uh, sure, whatever," she muttered, scurrying away.

"Did you really have to make the sloth sounds, Nora?" Ren whispered after he was reasonably sure the faunus was out of earshot.

The orange-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm sorry for trying to get in touch with my sloth side."

"Thank you all for coming," a powerful voice called, drawing their attention to a makeshift stage at the front of the room. "For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours! I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long!"

"Thank you, thank you." An orange-haired human stepped onto the makeshift stage with a flourish. His white jacket, brimmed hat, and cane were instantly recognizable.

"That's Roman Torchwick," Nora hissed at Ren. On the stage, a short woman with pink and brown hair and eyes strutted out behind Torchwick. "But who's the pipsqueak?"

"Please, hold your applause," the thief said, holding up his hands.

"What's a human doing here?!" the deer faunus shouted at the makeshift stage.

"I'm glad you asked, _Deerie_! Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans... are the worst." He motioned to himself. "Case in point. So, I understand why you would like to see us all locked away, or, better yet, killed!"

"_But_, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I _all_ have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" The crowd began mumbling in response. The human had a point.

"Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life!" The crowd cheered.

"He's certainly a showman, if nothing else," Ren muttered. He realized immediately that the thief was playing the crowd- they had no idea what his intentions truly were.

"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around- no offence to any rodents in the room." He snapped his fingers and the curtain behind him flew backward, revealing his surprise.

"Is that a battle robot?" Nora asked.

"It's an Atlesian Paladin 290," Ren told her, examining the machine.

Roman tapped the side of the mech. "As some of you might have heard, this right here is Atlas' newest defence against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my _employer_, we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, _hit the shelves_."

He paused. "Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

The faunus crowd roared with applause.

"We can't let him keep that," Nora hissed at her partner. "Tell me you have a plan, Ren!"

"All new recruits, please come forward!" the White Fang lieutenant called.

"I'm thinking." Sooner or later, they'd be discovered, and he knew it. They had to escape and warn the others- there was no way they could take out that machine on their own.

"Think faster, Ren-Ren!" Nora urged as the crowd pushed them forward. "I think I just lost my tail."

Ren allowed himself a rare moment of near-panic. "You what?"

"They're imposters!"

"Humans!"

"Get them!"

"The window, go!" Ren shouted. In one swift move, his partner grabbed him, unfolded Magnhild, and swung it, pulling the trigger at just the right moment.

"Whee!" Nora shouted as they went flying through the window.

Their moment of glee was short-lived. The mech was after them seconds later, crashing through the cinder block wall directly below the window. They ran, Ren hastily pulling out his scroll as they jumped onto the rooftops.

* * *

><p>"Where are you?" Jaune shouted back into the scroll.<p>

Ren's voice was unusually panicky. "On the freeway!"

"Great, how are we gonna get there in time?"

Pyrrha was already working on it. She stepped onto the street, waving her arms as a green sports car approached. It screeched to a halt and a woman with green hair and a matching blazer angrily stormed out of the vehicle.

"What the-" The woman's expression changed from anger to shock to elation when she saw who was in front of them. "Wow, you're the Mistralian champion, Pyrrha Nikos. Can I have your autograph?"

"I'm sorry, but I really need to borrow your car," Pyrrha requested, smiling sweetly.

She blinked. "I don't know..."

The Mistralian cut her off, bolting past and into the open driver's side door. "Thank you!"

Jaune blinked, surprised that she would just steal a car like that. "Pyrrha, should we really be-"

"Get in the car, Jaune!" she snapped, an intensity in her voice that he rarely heard. Wordlessly, he complied, getting into the passenger's side.

The woman's confusion became rage. "Hey, that's my car! What do you even need it for?"

"I'm really sorry about this," Pyrrha shouted as they drove away.

"I can't believe we're stealing a car," Jaune practically shouted at his partner, tightening his seat belt.

"We're not stealing it, Jaune, we're borrowing it to do something very important." The redhead floored the accelerator. Powered by a turbocharged quad-bank radial engine, the sports car bolted up the onramp onto the freeway.

"We're borrowing it to rescue our friends-"

She cut him off. "From a known terrorist group. Besides, we will return it when we are done. We're only-"

"We're not the police, Pyrrha," he reminded her.

She didn't answer.

"Hey, look, it's Ren and Nora!" Jaune pointed out. He could see the green and pink blurs ahead of them- and a giant grey robot between them. "And a giant robot. Uh oh. We need to stop that thing."

"Do you have any ideas?"

He thought quickly. Of course! "Your Semblance is polarity, right? That thing's made out of metal."

"Yes, but it's too big for me to stop it," Pyrrha reminded him. "I'm not strong enough."

"You don't have to stop it, just tilt it enough to fall off the highway."

"I can't drive and use my Semblance at the same time."

"I'll take the wheel. You focus on knocking that robot off, okay?" Jaune unbuckled himself and leaned over, taking the wheel with one hand as Pyrrha tried to slide out from under him. It was a strange, awkward, and uncomfortable position. The car swerved and slowed down as Pyrrha crawled onto the passenger seat and Jaune dropped into the driver's side. "Got it!"

"I need a better line of sight!" Pyrrha shouted as Jaune struggled to follow the mech without smashing into the other cars or the median. Nora and Ren had given up running, instead using Magnhild to explosively hop down the highway. It was extremely odd to look at, but seemed to be working.

"Okay, it's a-" The roof immediately flew off and disappeared behind them when Jaune pulled the retract lever. "_Was_ a convertible."

The Mistralian shakily stood up, using one hand to keep steady and reaching out with the other. The slipstream battered her and she struggled to keep her balance.

"Hurry, Pyrrha!" Ahead of them, the other half of their team narrowly dodged a missile barrage from the mech, using Nora's grenade hammer to blast them out of the way.

"I'm trying!" She reached forward with one hand, channelling her Aura into her Semblance to apply a sideways force to the top of the mech. It wavered, corrected, and with another burst from Pyrrha swiveled on one foot and fell off the freeway. "Got it!"

Jaune braked hard, bringing the car to a fast stop and nearly throwing his partner out of it. He jumped out, running over to Ren and helping him up. "You guys okay?"

Nora snapped off a salute for both of them. "A-okay, leader!"

He drew Crocea Mors and used it to motion his team forward. "Let's get him."

Team JNPR dropped from the freeway to the empty ground below, where the mech was already getting to its feet. It fired an initial barrage of missiles, and the four of them split up to avoid them.

"Hit it with everything you've got!" Jaune shouted, charging forward with his sword. He brought it back and swung, burying the ancient metal of his family's blade in the leg of the mech. Suddenly, he found himself flying through the air, Crocea Mors clattering to the ground beside him. Had he not been disoriented by the impact, he would have realized that he had literally been kicked away.

"Go for the optics, Ren, go for the optics!" Nora shouted, transforming Magnhild into its launcher form and unleashing bright pink grenades at the machine. They did little damage, but drew its attention. Her partner rushed in from the other side, driving his StormFlowers into the optics pod underneath, pumping a dozen bullets into it at the same time.

Their blonde leader hauled himself to his feet, charging forward with his shield up. He managed to get one good swing in, but missed. The mech brought up a metal fist and drove it into his shield, sending him flying into a concrete pillar.

Pyrrha tossed Miló at the mech as hard as she could, only for the sharp spear to bounce off after barely leaving a dent. She rolled to the side as the mech turned toward her, using her Semblance to retrieve her weapon. She managed to get off three ineffective shots in gun mode before being forced to dodge.

Jaune watched as the mech tossed Nora into Ren before turning and opening fire on Pyrrha. Gunfire narrowly missed his partner, shredding a concrete support instead. That gave him an idea. "Shoot the pillars!"

"Okey-dokey, leader!" Nora acknowledged, opening fire on the concrete pillars supporting the freeway above. They broke and crumbled with each impact.

"Hey!" Jaune shouted, running out in front of the Paladin, shield in hand. "Look at me, I'm here! You want a fight?"

On the other side of the Paladin, Pyrrha tossed Akoúo̱, using her Semblance to increase its speed enough to break through one of the pillars. Above them, the elevated highway began to shake and crumble.

"Jaune!" Ren shouted.

The blonde wasted no time, using his shield to absorb the impact of the mech's gunfire while he ran out from under the freeway. There was one support right beside him, and he chopped through the weakened concrete with Crocea Mors as he dashed by.

The last two pillars, themselves damaged, could not hold the weight of the carriageway any longer. Steel-reinforced concrete cracked and broke, large chunks raining down on where the fighters were only moments before. The large mech tried to get out of the way, but was smashed down by what used to be the centre of the road.

"Is it dead?" Jaune asked, striding toward the wreckage. His team was behind him, weapons still at the ready. One of the concrete fragments shook, moved, then went flying. "It's not dead!"

Before he could give anything resembling an order, there was an explosion behind him and a pink blur went flying forward. Nora had her weapon out in hammer mode. She swung it at the struggling mech, pulling the trigger just before the impact. The hit shattered what was left of the Paladin and sent its occupant flying. He landed awkwardly and stumbled to his feet.

"Just got this thing cleaned," Roman Torchwick complained, dusting himself off.

With a manic grin on her face, Nora transformed her weapon back into its grenade launcher form and let loose a volley at the thief. Before the grenades could hit, the short woman in pink and brown appeared from seemingly nowhere. She unfolded her lacy parasol and used it to effortlessly block the incoming grenades.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Roman tipped his hat, and his partner did an elegant bow. "Neo, if you would..."

Jaune charged forward, his family's sword at the ready. With a mighty roar, he swung it at the thief, only for him to shatter into small shards and disappear. He dropped his sword in a mixture of surprise and fatigue. "...what?"

"An illusion," Pyrrha told him. Close by, a Bullhead took off into the sky before they could do anything to stop it.

"Yeah," Jaune said weakly, adrenaline now draining from his system. "I guess. Let's go."

* * *

><p>The green-haired woman stood beside her dented, scratched car, glaring angrily at the police officer. "I told you, officer, Pyrrha Nikos borrowed my car, and then I got the call saying it was up here."<p>

"Right... the invincible Mistralian borrowed your car," the officer replied, skeptically. "For some reason she was in a bad neighbourhood, needed to borrow your car, and you let her do it."

"Yes!" she replied, exasperated, not realizing how absurd it sounded.

"And you're sure you didn't just leave it parked in a bad neighbourhood and it got stolen?"

"No! I was in my car until she took it!" the woman insisted.

The cop shook his head. "Right... well, you're going to have to take this up with your insurance company."

* * *

><p>I realized I haven't actually been responding to reviews for this story, so I'm going to reply to a few now. Sorry for the delay.<p>

**Noob6** chapter 1: Not necessarily. To be honest, I kind of oscillated between practically confirming it and leaving it very ambiguous when I was writing. That particular scene isn't meant to suggest anything, but it can be read that way.

**frik1000** chapter 1: It's a separate incident that happened after the docks, but I think that's been cleared up now.

**Guest with Q's** chapter 1: We've now seen Sun and Neptune. They'll be relegated to a fairly minor role, because they don't really know JNPR. However, Sun was at the docks, and so was Penny. We've already seen Sun, and I thought about putting in Penny as well. There's a chance we'll still see her later. As for the numbered questions, JNPR will be more motivated but that doesn't necessarily turn into more effectiveness, you've now seen the plan. Also, which disclaimer are you referring to?

**KCNederland** chapter 1: I actually went back and forth repeatedly between more and less depressing versions before going with this one. This is kind of in the middle, but I might update it with one that could swing toward depressing although that is not the intention.

**LongSean22** chapter 3: Thanks. My main concern was getting them to do generally the same things without it seeming implausible or a frame-for-frame rehash. Hopefully I'll be able to keep that going forward.

The big thing I keep oscillating on with this fic is how close I want to keep it with canon. Should I effectively swap RWBY for JNPR, or diverge more and deliver a significantly different story? I do have some plans set in stone, but there's still a lot in flux.


	5. Noncurricular

Basically, I ran out of time, so you get a Volume 1 style 4-minute episode. Sorry. I know the scene with Jaune and Pyrrha is probably cringe-worthy.

There is quite a bit that can't really carry over in that episode, but there was some new stuff I was going to put in and a lot of it didn't make it. No review replies this week, but I might respond to some via PM in the meantime.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 5: Noncurricular<strong>

CRDL had potential, Pyrrha reflected as she parried Sky Lark's blow and hit him with the side of Miló. The blow knocked his Aura into the red and knocked him into the match, leaving only the leader of the team left. It was almost too bad. He was a terrible leader. Their team was uncoordinated, unsynchronized, ineffective.

Cardin raised his mace and swung at the champion. She ducked under it and delivered a blow with her shield, knocking her opponent to the ground.

Smirking despite the pain, he leapt to his feet and tried a different tactic. "Bet your little redheaded friend screamed real loud when she died-"

Cardin was cut off by Pyrrha driving Akoúo̱ into his face. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his sides. She stepped toward them, rage on her face.

"That's a match," the professor called. Pyrrha kicked her opponent savagely in the side, feeling bone crack under her boot. "That's a match!"

"I'm sorry, Professor Goodwitch," Pyrrha apologized, her tone even. She felt simultaneously terrible and... not terrible at what she had done. She reached down to help Cardin up, but he refused to take it. "I got caught up in the match."

"Please take your seat, Miss Nikos," the Professor told her. She addressed the class, "Alright, now I know that's a tough act to follow, but we have time for one more sparring match. Any volunteers?"

One of the Haven students, a boy with grey hair and a grey outfit, stood up. "I'll do it."

"Mercury, is it?" she asked, receiving a nod in response. "Well, let's find you an opponent."

"Actually, I wanna fight... her." Mercury pointed straight at Pyrrha.

"Miss Nikos?"

"No, I'm sorry, I'm... too tired." She knew it was a lame excuse, but backing out was better than losing control again.

"Alright." Professor Goodwitch was careful to keep the disapproval out of her voice. After all, the girl was probably still reeling from the loss of her friends. She turned to Mercury. "I'm afraid you're going to have to choose another partner."

* * *

><p>"I thought I'd find you up here," Jaune Arc said quietly, gently closing the access door and striding over to a patch of bare concrete beside his partner. He sat down beside her, maybe too close than he should have, though he only thought of that after he had sat down.<p>

"I... I needed to think," she replied quietly, shakily.

Jaune was confused, or at least sounded like it, "Pyrrha, this isn't like you. You're the invincible-"

"Am I? Am I, Jaune?" She spun around, facing him. Tears dripped from her eyes. "Because I don't feel very _invincible_ right now."

"What's wrong?"

She sighed and leaned back. "I've been blessed with incredible talents and opportunities; I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise; but when you're placed on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people that put you there in the first place."

She shook her head. "People look up to me like I'm more than human. But I can't even hold myself together under a little bit of pressure, let alone live up to that ideal of perfection. I'm falling apart, Jaune. I can't be perfect. I can't be the invincible girl. Not when I hardly have any life of my own."

Suddenly, she snapped. "Is that how everyone sees me? Is that how you see me, Jaune?"

"No, of course not, Pyrrha."

Her voice was only a whisper. "Then how do you see me?"

"Well..." Jaune tried to choose his words carefully, even though he knew he wasn't very good at it. "Well, you're Pyrrha. You're strong, and you're smart, you're my partner and you always have my back. And even though I shouldn't even be here, you still want to help me."

"Jaune..." For a brief moment, she considered just jumping on him right then and there. Jaune's words had a warmth she rarely felt- that he meant Pyrrha the person, not Pyrrha the idol. Her courage faltered, though, and she asked instead what was probably an even worse question. "How did you really feel about Weiss?"

Thankfully, Jaune interpreted her question as being a lot less direct than she thought. "I don't know. I mean, out of the team she was the one we didn't know the most about, but, well, you know, I kind of had a crush on her."

He traced circles with his fingers. "But I don't know. Was it just a stupid crush? Was it more? Was I the bad guy? Maybe it never would have worked. I guess I'll never know. I was gonna try to ask her to the dance, at least, but, well..."

Abruptly, he changed topics. "Pyrrha, you know, it's a horrible time for all of us, and you don't have to be perfect, and, well, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm here for you."

She smiled a bit. "Jaune?"

"Yeah, Pyrrha?"

"Thank you."

* * *

><p>"Stolen military property, a street race, and allegedly the Invincible Girl," General Ironwood said, pacing in front of Ozpin's desk. "I don't suppose this was your students."<p>

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that," the Headmaster replied honestly. "And I dare not speculate."

"Of course you wouldn't."

"I'm sure you already know the answer to your question."

"Why'd you tell them, Oz?" the General asked, heaving a sigh. "You know if there's even the slightest inkling of hope, they're gonna keep searching for an answer."

Ozpin's response was calm and collected, as it normally was. "And their search will lead them to the answer, whatever that answer may be."

"Or they'll die trying. Can you live with that, Ozpin? Can you live with killing another team? How many? When is it worth it?" He knew he was externalizing his own feelings to a certain extent, but he didn't care.

"You know as well as I do that this goes beyond-"

"And you know as well as I do that it's an excuse," Ironwood replied, cutting him off. "What's this about, Ozpin?"

"Stopping a threat. Preventing a war. Saving the world, if you're going to be dramatic about it."

"Is it?" Ironwood stopped and faced his old friend. "I know you're _trying_ to do what's right, Ozpin. I just don't know if you know what that is anymore."

"A good question, indeed," Professor Ozpin muttered as the General strode away.


	6. Lighting the Candle

In which I try to write romance. Let's see how this goes.

Nora seems to have hidden depths even in canon, but it's still hard to write her. Ren is almost a blank slate.

* * *

><p><span><strong>Episode 6: Lighting the Candle<strong>

"May I have your attention, please?" Headmaster Ozpin called from the front of the Great Hall, while hundreds of students ate breakfast. It wasn't a regular occurrence, but it wasn't uncommon for the headmaster to do so if there was important news to be shared. Though a few continued to eat, the room quieted down at his announcement.

"Thank you. There seems to have been some confusion as to the status of the annual Beacon dance. I assure you that despite the terrible events that have taken place, and despite a few setbacks, it will be taking place as planned. To not continue would be to admit defeat in the face of the enemy, and it would be an affront to the memory of Team RWBY. So, I hope that you will all enjoy the occasion." With that, he stepped out, and the room instantly became abuzz with conversation.

"So, I guess it is happening, after all," Jaune said quietly. "But what did he mean by setbacks?"

"Well originally CFVY was going to get the dance set up but they're still on a mission, so they had to find another team to do it, and it was really last minute so they'd have to do it quickly. I think the Headmaster got the team with the old guy and the guy in the striped skirt to do it- they're second-years and I don't know much about them but I guess they did an okay job because it's happening."

"Ah, okay," Jaune acknowledged, though he had caught less than half of what Nora said. "So... I think we should all go. It's, well, you know-"

"What they would have wanted," Pyrrha finished quietly.

Jaune repeated his partner's words, "It's what they would have wanted."

"It's less than a week away," she pointed out. "Have you thought about who you're going with?"

"Well, that's easy," Nora said, putting an arm around her partner. "Me and Ren are going together, right, Ren-Ren? Of course we are, because we do everything together. But we're not together-together, because that would be weird. We're just going as friends."

"Yes, Nora," Ren acknowledged. His partner made finding a proper date impossible, but he didn't mind in the slightest. Even if they weren't _together_-together, they were still _together_. "What about you, Jaune? Do you have anyone in mind?"

"I'm... I'm not sure." Jaune admitted, sneaking a glance at his partner. "I guess, I mean, I've never really been good with girls, and I don't really know anyone, but, well, I'll figure it out. What about you, Pyrrha?"

"I... I'm not sure either, but I have someone in mind," the champion replied. She thought about winking at Jaune, thought about even just blurting it out, but decided against it. This wasn't a good time, she told herself.

"Good for you, Pyrrha. I've-"

"Class starts in five minutes," Ren interrupted. He really didn't want to do it- he was well aware of what was (or, rather, wasn't) going on between them- but they really were going to be late. He knew the two would take more time than they had.

"Oh, crap!" Their leader bolted upright, nearly spilling his orange juice all over himself. Their plates were abandoned as they bolted out of the hall toward the Grimm Studies classroom.

* * *

><p>The Beacon library was occupied, but quiet. Classes were almost finished for the day, but few wanted to study. Only the most studious of students, people looking for specific materials, and those that were falling behind were in the cavernous halls.<p>

"I thought I might find you here," Ren said to his red-haired teammate, slowly approaching.

Pyrrha closed her notebook and turned to face her teammate. "You were looking for me?"

"Not specifically." He held up a small paperback book.

She read the title. "Quotations of Origins Unknown?"

"It's about supposed sayings and such with no discernible origin," Ren replied, sitting down beside her. "It's quite popularist, and the research isn't very good, but it's entertaining if nothing else."

He glanced at her notebook, which was covered in illegible scrawl. "How long have you spent on that essay?"

The champion smiled ruefully. "I've spent hours without making significant progress."

"Is something bothering you?" Ren already knew the answer, and what answer she would give.

"I'm fine." She replied, her tone harsher than usual.

He insisted, "You're not fine."

Pyrrha snapped her notebook shut and glared at him. "I said I'm fine! There's nothing wrong!"

"Something is bothering you," Ren insisted. "Something serious."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Fair enough." He decided to try another tactic. "Who's your date for the dance?"

"I haven't asked him yet," Pyrrha replied with a quiet sigh, answering both questions.

"Jaune?" Ren had noticed that her affections for their leader went beyond simple friendship. Despite his quiet, sometimes antisocial nature, he was quite good at reading people.

She nodded. "I'm the champion of Mistral, yet I can't even ask out that... charming... idiot. It's pathetic, isn't it?"

He shook his head and replied sagely. "We all have our own fears and insecurities, no matter how indomitable we may seem. It is how we face them that defines us."

He paused before stepping down to a more pragmatic statement. "You're not perfect, Pyrrha, and neither is Jaune. He knows that and so do you. It's clear there's something between you. So why don't you want to ask him to the dance?"

"I do want to, Ren," she replied. "But what if he says no? What if he doesn't like me? He's one of the few who's ever seen me for, well, me, and the only one I've ever managed to get close to. I don't think I can take-"

"Stop," Ren interrupted firmly. "To be rejected would be a terrible blow, a wound that may or may not heal with time. But to not ask at all would be a wound that would _inevitably_ fester with time. You of all people should know that you may never have another opportunity. And if you don't, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

He offered a rare smile. "Besides, I don't think that will be a problem."

"You really think so?"

"I may not be the most social, but I know what the people around me are feeling," he replied. "I can tell you already care about each other very much."

She smiled back. "Thanks, Ren."

"It's not a problem. Now, I think you have a date to ask out."

* * *

><p>"So, Jaune-Jaune, who are the lucky girls you have in mind?" Nora asked for the third time, jumping off the bed. "Or the lucky guys, if that's what you like."<p>

He put down his textbook, realizing that he had read the section on Beowolf behaviour three times and was halfway through reading it again, yet had no idea what it actually said. "There's nobody, Nora. I can't think of anyone who I can ask."

"But there's lots of pretty girls here," she reminded him. "And handsome guys. And pretty guys. And handsome girls."

"Yeah, but I don't know any of them well enough, and I'm not exactly the most attractive guy in the world." He sighed. "I mean, I was going to ask Weiss to the dance, but, well, you know..."

"She's dead," Nora said casually. "And she never liked you anyway."

"Nora!"

"Well, it's true," Nora rolled her eyes. "Weiss was many things, a lot of things that a lot of people didn't get to see, but liking you? No. Not that way. Never would have worked."

"It's rude to-"

"Not speaking ill," she replied in a grossly inappropriate singsong voice. At least Nora was back to her normal self, if you could call that normal.

She did a frontflip off the bed. "So, you were going to ask the heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, who everyone figured was way above them, but you're afraid to ask anyone else?"

"Well, yes!" he replied. "I don't know, I guess I just had a crush on her before I knew that, and I kept going because of that, but now, I don't even know where to start. Nora, this is Beacon. The most promising students in the world go here. How can I compete with that?"

"Love isn't about who's the best at something," Nora told him. "It's about who likes who, for whatever reason."

"That's... not really helpful, Nora. There's not a lot of reasons to like me over anyone else. I mean, I'm-"

Nora zipped in front of him and poked him in the forehead. "Stop that thinking right there, Jaune! There are lots of reasons to like you! In fact, I can tell you, with absoballylute certainty, that there is at least one girl who does."

She covered her mouth with her hand. "Probably shouldn't have said that."

Jaune stared at her. "Really? Who?"

"Well... she spends most of her time right in this room," she hinted, hoping that the dense blonde would get the hint.

He didn't. "I thought you said you were going with Ren?"

"Not me, silly! Your partner, Pyrrha!" She covered her mouth again. "Oops."

Jaune laughed. "Pyrrha? She's a good friend, but there's no way. She's way too good for me. You don't think she really likes me, does she?"

"Why don't you find out?"

"I don't know... I mean, it's Pyrrha. She's the Invincible Girl!" He waved his arms for emphasis.

"Is she?"

_Am I? Am I, Jaune?_ "...no."

"Do you like her?"

He couldn't deny that he felt something for his partner, even if he wasn't sure what it was. He sputtered "Well, I guess, I mean, who doesn't-"

Nora grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him toward the door. "Then go out there and get her!"

* * *

><p>Pyrrha ran into Jaune in a hallway outside their dorm. Literally. She crashed to the ground, taking the blonde down with her.<p>

"Sorry!" Jumping to her feet, she blurted out- "Jaune, will you be my date for the dance?"

"Hey, I'm wondering if- what?" Jaune gave her a look of confusion as he stumbled back up.

With a mix of frustration and desire, she repeated, "Can I take you to the dance?"

Jaune took her hands in his and smiled. "Yes. Absolutely."

She smiled back. It felt as if everything was right with the world. It was a wonderful moment. It was a moment that didn't last. The blonde frowned and asked, unsure of himself, "Are you sure, though? I mean, I-"

"Jaune, stop. I'm sure." She squeezed his hands tighter, smiling sweetly. Her partner still had an awkward, dumbfounded expression on his face. It was, in a way, charming.

"You don't want to try to find someone... well, better?" he asked quietly.

"I don't want better. I want you."

And once again, the moment was perfect again.

* * *

><p>Despite all the spin, all the lies and all the rationalization, she knew what they were really doing.<p>

She knew that they were willing to do anything and then some. So when she came across something they had refused, it set off alarm bells in her head. This time, the more she looked, the more it frustrated her. And this didn't disgust her. It _scared_ her.

What were they not doing? She wasn't naive; she knew that if the SDC wouldn't do it, someone would. And this was something she just had a bad feeling about.

Grabbing her scroll- the one that was registered to Glacias, not her company one- she fired off another message.


End file.
